Professor Splash's belly flop proves America's Got Talent -- of a very strange kind (VIDEO)

I made a marathon drive back to Colorado yesterday, arriving on the eve of this state's birthday -- just in time to watch a Coloradan make a splash on America's Got Talent, where the self-proclaimed Professor Splash executed a record-breaking belly flop into twelve inches of water, at about the...

By Patricia Calhoun

August 1, 2011

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I made a marathon drive back to Colorado yesterday, arriving on the eve of this state's birthday -- just in time to watch a Coloradan make a splash on America's Got Talent, where the self-proclaimed Professor Splash executed a record-breaking belly flop into twelve inches of water, at about the same time Congressional leaders were making their own fiscal flop.

Professor Splash, aka Darren Taylor, is just one of the homegrown heroes making a splash on reality TV this summer. Two contestants before he took a dive, Denver opera singer Lys Agnes wowed the crowd with her selection from Carmen and, like Prof Splash, moved on to the next round.

But that's just the start of the Denver divas. This town's fashion business is still feeling the ripple effects of Mondo placing second on last year's Project Runway -- and first in the hearts of most viewers. And now, Fallene Wells, our 2010 MasterMind winner for her fashion and design work, is on Project Runway, easily making the cut on last Thursday's season opener.

"I think that any press for Denver fashion is really great," Wells told our Show and Tell blog last week. "I look forward to more designers from Denver on Project Runway, and I wouldn't really think of it as them being in my shadow. I think it's just a different journey."

A different journey for all of us. Happy birthday, Colorado. Can't wait to see where you turn up next.

Look below to see Professor Splash make same.

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Patricia Calhoun is editor-in-chief of Westword, the alt-weekly she co-founded in September 1977. She’s been inducted into the Colorado Press Association Hall of Fame, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Hall of Fame and the Colorado Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. She’s also received dozens of local, state and national awards for writing, including first place for feature writing and first place for column writing with the Society of Professional Journalists. Patricia is a weekly commentator on Colorado Inside Out, PBS 12's public affairs roundtable, which has won two Emmys.

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